Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘ (twice) is a sequel to ‘Beetlejuice‘ (once) made in 1988 by the same director. If a different director and an entirely different cast had produced the film, I would have treated it (and probably many others did the same) quite harshly. However, since we are talking about a director who has become famous, who reuses his characters and brings back to the screen the world he created in the film that launched his career and defined his aesthetics and to a large extent the themes, we cannot help but ask the question why Tim Burton wanted so much to make this movie. Corollary – was it worth the effort? How does the double-titled ‘sequel’ compare (comparison is inevitable) to the original? A little research reveals the fact that Burton had long wanted to resume the theme in a sequel, that he refused two other scripts and that he set the uncompromisable condition that Michael Keaton would resume his titular role. Meanwhile the Beetlejuice Universe has expanded with other films, TV series, cartoons and computer games. In the decades of computerized effects and of virtual and intelligent enhancements, a sequel has to bring something very different to be remembered in the future separately from the original. I doubt that would be the case with ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘.
Re-watching or, for the younger ones, watching for the first time the original movie is not mandatory but it is very useful to understand exactly what is happening in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘. Some of the characters return, namely the mother and daughter from the Deetz family, a family that had a secondary (but important) role in ‘Beetlejuice‘. And of course Beetlejuice returns and he hasn’t given up on his plans to spend the rest of his death with Lydia Deetz, now a TV star and an expert on … ghosts and connections between the worlds of the living and the dead. 35 years later, the teenager in the original movie is now at her turn the mother of another teenager, Astrid, equally rebellious and innocent about contact with the world beyond the Styx. Beetlejuice turns out not to be exactly a bachelor either, but rather a divorcee, and Delores, his ex-wife and grave-robbing partner from the plague centuries, comes together (from pieces, literally) to reunite their family. The combination of teen movies, horror (the action also takes place before Halloween) and the constant interaction between the world of the living and the afterlife works. Up to a certain point.
The cinematic world of Tim Burton is always present on the screen: colorful and frightening, grotesque and macabre, full of coarse humor and no curtains, expressive music used in unexpected ways. The problem is that the audio-visual style can no longer surprise and is no longer enough. 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice‘ launched an approach and created a distinct commercial-artistic brand that became famous and hasn’t changed much since, although the technical tools are different. Among the acting creations of this ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘ (twice) I liked Winona Ryder‘s the most. She manages to create a believable evolution of her eccentric character created three and a half decades ago. The younger generation is represented by actress Jenna Ortega, who presents an alternative to the role of the rebellious, skeptical and inevitably in love teenager. Ryder was 17 years old in 1988 and the role in Tim Burton‘s film launched her career. Ortega, on the other hand, at 22 years old, already has more than 50 roles in her filmography, but she is still fresh, expressive, attractive and scared, as the role demands. Monica Bellucci has a minor role, but one that includes a spectacular, anthology scene. Willem Dafoe and Danny DeVito may also complain about under-casting, but on the other hand, they seem to be having fun, with make-ups beyond recognition, in Tim Burton‘s film. The main problem is the lack of an interesting story. The film has three main narrative threads – a story of coming of age and teenage love, and the two obsessive pursuits of Beetlejuice and Delores. None captures or engages. Gags and transitions between the worlds of the living and the dead are not enough. A lot can happen in the next 36 years, but unless something radically changes, I’d say that Tim Burton has no reason for another sequel. Or, as one can learn in the movie, saying ‘Beetlejuice’ three times is not advisable.